The in-house affair between Air India Blue and Red turned into an anti-climax as the brilliance of Robin Uthappa and the effectiveness of Yuvraj Singh’s left-arm spin took the underdogs to a comprehensive 93-run victory at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday night.

Uthappa scored an unbeaten 157, while Yuvraj’s two wickets in as many balls triggered a middle-order collapse from which the fancied Blue team never recovered. Yuvraj’s side had scripted their third straight upset, the last one giving them the distinction of being the inaugural champions of the BCCI’s Corporate Trophy, and proving their victories earlier in the tournament were no flashes in the pan.

Yuvraj lost his first toss of the tournament, and with a variety of players having chipped in earlier in the week, it was Uthappa’s turn to step into the spotlight. Utthappa has been out Team India for quite some time, and his 1000-plus runs in the domestic season was overshadowed by the penchant of throwing his wicket away.

Subsequently, the selectors had even omitted him from the Emerging Players tournament in Australia. On this night though, with three national selectors watching from the sidelines, he grabbed his opportunity in spectacular fashion.

The Bangalore batsman didn’t let the early loss of his opening partner Naman Ohja affect his scoring rate, with Pankaj Singh’s erratic bowling giving him the freedom to cut loose. Uthappa and Sushant Marathe made the most of the power play, but the Mumbai left-hander threw his wicket away, before Yuvraj and Raina fell to soft dismissals. Suddenly, the Red team looked like falling apart.

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